The invention relates to a motor vehicle door lock or the like of the type having a pivotally mounted locking catch, a pivotally mounted pawl for blocking the locking catch and a lever actuated locking mechanism for operating the catch and pawl.
German Patent No. 34 09 996 discloses a vehicle door lock of the above type wherein a motor operated locking aid is provided. This known lock is particularly suitable as a door lock for the tailgate of a station wagon but, in its basic function, can also be used as a side door lock or as a hood lock. For reasons of safety, in motor vehicle door locks, it is a standard specification to provide the locking catch with a preliminary locking position (prestop) and a main locking position (main stop). While only slight locking forces occur when bringing the locking catch into the preliminary locking position, relatively large locking forces, caused by the circumferential door seal, occur along the path between the preliminary locking position and the main locking position. In the known motor vehicle door lock, the locking catch can easily be brought into the preliminary locking position by closing the respective door by hand, while the catch is brought from the preliminary locking position to the main locking position by a motor-operated locking aid, i.e., by means of an auxiliary motor. This is certainly technically practical and convenient.
In opening a motor vehicle door lock, particularly a tailgate lock, by operating an outside release lever, it is possible that the locking catch does not immediately reach the opening position, since unintentionally letting go of the outside release lever will cause the pawl to fall into the preliminary locking position, thereby blocking the locking catch once again. In the case of a motor vehicle door lock that is not equipped with a motor-operated locking aid, this circumstance requires operating of the outside release lever again, which is often considered bothersome. This situation frequently occurs in the case of outside release levers that are operated by push buttons, as are often used on motor vehicle door locks for tailgates of station wagons.
In the case of a motor vehicle door lock having a motor-operated locking aid in which, as usually occurs, the auxiliary motor is turned on by the pawl falling into the preliminary locking position, the above described operating sequence leads to the motor-operated locking aid being operated again in the closing direction so that the door will be unintentionally pulled shut again. In a motor vehicle door lock with a motor-operated locking aid, this effect is, thus, very especially annoying.
Finally, in the case of side doors of motor vehicles with very high comfort requirements, an annoying impact noise can also be perceived during closing of the door as the pawl snaps down over the two flanges of the locking catch, which is made as a forked catch.